Aviva has become the first major insurer worldwide to target net zero carbon by 2040, a target it describes as ‘the most demanding of any major insurance company in the world’.
The commitment means it will achieve net zero carbon emissions from its investments by 2040, with a 25 per cent carbon intensity cut by 2025 and a 60 per cent cut by 2030, ahead of the 50 per cent cut required by the Paris Agreement.
The commitment covers Aviva’s scope 1,2 and 3 emissions, and includes shareholder assets and policyholder assets where it has decision-making control.
It will invest £10bn of assets from its auto-enrolment default funds and other policyholder funds into low carbon strategies by the end of 2022. By 2025 it will invest £6bn in green assets, including £1.5bn of policyholder monies into climate transition funds.
Aviva says the vast majority of its shift to net zero will be achieved through emissions reductions, but will invest in nature-based solutions and other options to remove residual emissions. IT has committed to invest £100m in nature-based solutions by 203
By the end of 2022 it will divest from all companies making more than 5 per cent of their revenue from coal unless they have signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI).
By the end of 2021 Aviva will have stopped underwriting insurance for companies making more than 5 per cent of their revenue from coal or unconventional fossil fuels, unless they are SBTI signatories.
Aviva also says it will be the first insurer to put its Taskforce for Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) to an advisory vote at its AGIM this May.
Aviva group CEO Amanda Blanc says: “We have a huge responsibility to change the way we invest, insure and serve our customers.”
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng says: “Businesses have a huge and vital role to play in tackling climate change. It is fantastic that Aviva is taking radical action across its business, which will help the UK eliminate its contribution to climate change and influence other businesses to move in the same direction.”
UK Net Zero Business Champion Andrew Griffith says: “It is great to see Aviva take such an influential step to become a net zero company by 2040, leading the UK’s financial sector on a path to a resilient, green future.”
Richard Curtis, co-founder of Make My Money Matter says: “Aviva’s announcement today makes it a global leader on net zero, and in driving the transition towards a green financial system. Before COP26, it’s crucial that the entire industry aligns to the Paris Climate Agreement, and Aviva is showing the critical steps which must be taken.
“In going above and beyond its peers this net zero pledge leads the race to the top we need to see from all financial institutions who recognise the dual role they play in fighting the climate crisis while at the same time working for their customers’ interests.”
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